There is a growing expansion of greener products in the cosmetics industry due to new consumer demands, being a very attractive segment for many companies wishing to have differentiating ingredients and products.
A few years ago, the focus was only on formulations, now the approach is holistic, including packaging, environmental commitments, ethics, social responsibility among other aspects, resulting in more sustainable cosmetic products.
Currently, there is no regulation or standard that indicates when a cosmetic product is considered “natural” or “organic”, unlike food products that have an EU Regulation that specifies the requirements and criteria to be considered within the organic production.
In the absence of regulations on natural and/or organic products, several companies in the sector have joined forces to create certifications for the various cosmetic products and thus establish parameters for evaluation and control. Among the main certifying bodies in Europe are Ecocert and Cosmebio in France, BDIH and Natrue in Germany, Demeter and Soil Association in the United Kingdom. Therefore, in order to obtain some of the organic or natural cosmetics seals, companies must voluntarily undergo certain evaluations and procedures before the certifying companies.
Among the main certifications we can find in the market is “COSMOS”, which has been developed by ECOCERT. On average, products certified by this standard contain 99% ingredients of natural origin, the other ingredients could be from a restrictive list of approved ingredients that are authorized in small proportions. Two classifications can be identified within this standard, first the “COSMOS NATURAL”, which must comply with a minimum of 95 % natural ingredients and the second “COSMOS ORGANIC”, with 95 % organic ingredients and 20 % of the total product which must be organic in order to comply.
Another certification seal that can be found in the international cosmetics market is NATRUE, which establishes a set of strict and transparent requirements for natural and organic cosmetic products. In order for a product to obtain this seal, at least 75% of the products of its brand or sub-brand must obtain certification to be able to use the seal. NATRUE is categorized into two types of products, natural cosmetics and organic cosmetics, for the latter at least 95% of the ingredients must be organic.
In Spain, there is a certification called BioVidaSana, promoted by the Vida Sana Association and bio.inspecta, under the control of Biocertificacion S.L., designed for small companies and traditional manufacturers. This standard has 3 different categories, depending on the percentage of organic or natural ingredients in the product.
There are also other leading organizations in the European Union that are in charge of evaluating greener cosmetics, among them the AIAB, CCPB, ICEA (Italy), ECO Garantie, Bioforum (Belgium) and CosmeBio (France).
Most standards and associations are based on similar fundamentals such as:
- Include in products ingredients that are less harmful to human health, animal health and the environment.
- To be transparent in the market, providing truthfulness in the information transmitted to consumers.
- Increase in the percentage of organic ingredients and harmonization of lists of prohibited ingredients derived from petrochemicals.
- Pursuit of social responsibility by promoting sustainable development and animal welfare.
- Adequate waste management.
- Packaging, labels, commercial material in smaller quantities and with better quality, minimizing unnecessary waste and maximizing the amount that can be recycled.
From Kaeltia Consulting, we advise national and international companies in obtaining greener certifications for cosmetic products, providing support at all stages of the process.
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